Amid rapid digital economy development and the continued advancement of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), digital transformation has become an increasingly significant driver of firms’ cross-border operations and green development. Therefore, examining how digital transformation affects corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance and green performance within the BRI framework is of considerable practical relevance. Using Chinese A-share listed firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges as the research sample, this study systematically investigates the impact of digital transformation on firms’ cross-border M&A and green performance and further examines the reinforcing role of the BRI and the underlying mechanisms. The results reveal that digital transformation significantly improves the success rate of cross-border M&As, increases M&A value, and enhances firms’ green total factor productivity. BRI implementation also significantly promotes the performance of firms engaging in cross-border M&As in countries along the BRI and has a positive effect on corporate green performance. Further analysis indicates that the positive effects of digital transformation on M&A and green performance become more pronounced under the BRI framework. Mechanism tests reveal that digital transformation primarily operates by improving information quality, strengthening internal control, enhancing resource integration efficiency, promoting green technological innovation, and increasing supply chain integration efficiency. By focusing on the synergistic effects of digital transformation and the BRI, this study provides new empirical evidence on the intrinsic link between firms’ internationalization and green transformation, with valuable implications for policy design and corporate strategic practice.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.